Pressing Flowers
by FanFicJunkie94
Summary: Dani Moonstar, more commonly know in the Marvel world as "Mirage," is dragged back into action by The Avengers. She finds out why she has been dreaming of a pair of green eyes that haunt her while she is awake and learns a valuable lesson that your past does not define you. Takes place about a year after "The Avengers". Loki/OC
1. Chapter 1

"Come on, Dani," Tony Stark begged as he fell to his knees a few feet away.

"You guys didn't seem to need me last time. What's so different now?" she asked, turning away and sitting in one of the leather recliners.

"Because last time we were with S.H.I.E.L.D. They called us all in. It wasn't that we didn't need you," he answered still on his knees.

"So, why are you not with S.H.I.E.L.D. this time? What's the whole story here?" she asked with determination in her voice. Before she agreed to do anything for the Avengers, she needed to know the details. He got up and walked over to sit in the chair next to her.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't think there's anything going on. They're too busy trying to kick Fury off the board and he's too busy trying to stay on it. Banner called me last week from somewhere in Estonia. He's been scanning for gamma radiation ever since we all split up last year and didn't notice anything weird until about a month ago. He said there's been an increasing amount of it coming from good old Russia."

"So, what? You guys think the Russian government is behind it? Cold war is over, Stark. I know it feels like yesterday that it started," she laughed. She loved the look on his face when she joked about his age.

"We don't know who to think it is. Banner says the rays he's picking up are about as strong as the ones from the tesseract,"

"Wait but isn't the tesseract in Asgard?" she asked.

"It should be. That's why we need your help. We need to get as many people together as we can so we can find out what's going on," Stark said.

"Can't Jarvis just hack into their security system and find out?" she asked.

"He tried, couldn't break through it though,"

"By the way, hello Jarvis," she said.

"Hello, Miss Moonstar. How have you been?" Jarvis replied.

"Fine, thank you."

Tony stood up and headed towards his bar.

"Something to drink?" he asked her.

"Sure. Since we're on the topic I'll take a black Russian I guess," she laughed.

He began making the drinks.

"So, let me get this straight. The Avengers are working without S.H.I.E.L.D. and Banner thinks high levels of radiation coming from Russia means they're up to something. This possibly involves the tesseract, or I'm guessing nuclear weapons. You guys want to get as many people together in case worse comes to worse?" she asked. He looked up from the bar.

"Yeah, pretty much," he nodded.

She stood up and walked over to the bar.

"So who are we talking here, besides you and Banner?" she asked him.

"Rogers," he answered.

"…that's it?" she asked stunned by his answer.

"At the moment, yeah that's all we got,"

"Why do I feel like Natasha would be an appropriate addition to this plan of yours? She is Russian, is she not?"

He slid her drink across the counter.

"Yeah, about that…" he said taking a swig of what looked to be straight whiskey, "No one has been able to contact her or Barton. We've got no idea where they are,"

She took a sip of the drink and set it back down.

"That's great. So as of now, it's you, me, Banner and the American flag against all of Russia. Those odds are great, Stark."

"So, you're saying you'll do it?" he asked.

"Do I really have a choice?" she replied.

Stark told her more about the missing agents. Romanoff and Barton had been out of contact for three months. Both of them knew S.H.I.E.L.D.'s limitations and could surely avoid being found if that's what they wanted. He told her how they were trying to get enough dark energy to try and contact Thor in Asgard. There was a long list of former agents and affiliates of S.H.I.E.L.D. him and Banner had contacted. She had been the only one to respond. Walking back to her hotel after a few drinks, she questioned herself as to why she had called Stark back in the first place. She wondered if inside she missed being in the action but quickly had remembered why she had left. No, she knew why she had responded. She had a small bit of hope that maybe whatever was going to happen would explain her reoccurring dream. She hoped an explanation would come to light at fate's hands. She needed one. The green eyes were driving her mad.


	2. Chapter 2

She entered her hotel room. The smell of cigarettes and freshly bleached sheets made her wish she had accepted Stark's offer and stayed at his place. It was near impossible to find a decent hotel room last minute in New York. She washed her face and changed into her pajamas which consisted of a huge shirt and sweatpants. She left her long black hair in the braid she had worn all day and set her alarm for the morning. According to Stark, Rogers and Banner were going to meet them at his place where they would "calmly" discuss a plan. She felt a slight hint of anxiety and excitement in her stomach as she realized this would be her first time back in action in years. She had never really quit, just taken an extended leave of absence. She lay down on the hard mattress and remembered what Stark had said earlier about the possibility of the tesseract falling into the hands of the Russian government or a terrorist group. If another group like the one Loki had formed before got its hands on the tesseract they would have a lot more on their plate. Maybe it _was_ Loki again though. It would be the simplest answer. The tesseract and Loki had both been taken to Asgard. If the two were missing they would have their answer but they had no way of contacting Asgard at the moment. She closed her eyes and tried to remember her short time on the realm. Its golden buildings and beautiful skies made it hard to leave. She remembered the moment Odin had presented her with her horse Brightwind. Brightwind was pure white with the bluest of eyes. They could understand each other's thoughts and though she could understand many other animals, things had never been clearer than with Brightwind. Odin could sense it as well. He had honored her with the title of Valkyrie but everything had gone downhill after that point. She had her powers taken away and then slightly restored before she had decided to leave and come back to Earth, leaving all of her new found friends and powers behind. Her last encounter had been with the infamous Thor Odinson. He was the most talked about of anything on Asgard. Even in her time on Valhalla, she had often heard his name. At the many festivals and parties in Asgard she had seen him boasting while his dark-haired brother Loki glared from the distance with such great jealousy. She never liked Thor's presumptuous attitude. He had been sent by Odin to try and stop her from leaving but the visions had become too much to handle for her. Seeing her own fears projected in her mind constantly was tearing her apart. Her power had become a curse. She secluded herself back on Earth in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. After five years, she had finally been able to psychologically build a wall in her mind to keep her powers from affecting her. And now, she was about to jump back into the action that had caused her breakdown in the first place. She reached across the small nightstand and turned off a lamp whose shade was crooked. It didn't take long for her drift away into a deep sleep.

_Her head ached. She could feel her heartbeat throbbing in her throat. She felt the sting of fear throughout her whole body. She was trapped. Her eyes were shut and she dared not open them, scared of what she would find. She wondered if she was dead; if death was as horrible as what she was feeling. A high-pitched sound rang in her ears so loudly that she felt it would drive her mad, if she hadn't been mad already. The noise became louder and higher every second. She thought her eardrums would burst when suddenly, it all stopped. Her body unclenched and her heartbeat slowed. There was silence. Against her instincts, she forced her eyes open. A pair of vibrant green eyes stared into hers. They didn't scare her. She felt a strange calming feeling through her body. The eyes stared unblinkingly. The green was met with tiny golden specks that seemed to shine. She tried to see the rest of the face but it was as though she had been paralyzed. The eyes continued to stare as though they were trying to tell her something. She gazed into them until they slowly began to dissolve and the noise began to fill her ears again. _


End file.
